Simple Similarities
by Jeanne Reveur
Summary: Casefic. It was just another normal case. A dead Navy Lieutenant, and a missing killer. However, then they learn the victim's name. Things soon go to hell, and a member of the team is shot. Who did it, and can they find the killer before it's too late?
1. Chapter 1

She felt the warmth of her blood drip down her right arm; and could feel her heart rapidly pounding. Her other arm was instinctively covering her wound, as if holding her hand on the area the bullet hit her, would magically make it better. She glared at her attacker, the only way she could think of to fight back.

A part of her wanted her attacker to just kill her there, and just get the whole thing over with. The anticipation of what her attacker was planning was too much, she she almost wondered if it was possible to die from anticipation.

At the same time, the hopeful part of her wanted someone to burst through the door, and save her from her deathly fate. But she was a logical person. She knew that nobody was coming to save her. There would be no chivalrous knight in shining armor to come to her rescue. No happily ever after. Only a early death.

"You're awfully calm, for somebody who's about to die," her soon-to-be murderer said with a sadistic tone, "Don't you want to cry? Beg for mercy? Offer me something that would spare you?"

She did want to cry. More then anything, she wanted to cry. This wasn't how she imagined she'd die. She thought it'd be bravely, with honer, out in the battle field. She thought she'd die serving her country. Or, if that wasn't the case, she'd be in her old age, and would die peacefully in her sleep, her children with her. However, she never imagined once that it'd be like this.

But she wasn't going to cry or beg. She wouldn't give her attacker the pleasure of it.

"What would be the point?" She asked, her glare intensifying, "You would kill me anyways. Why waste your time?" She heard a sigh.

"Lieutenant...you're no fun at all, you know that?" She heard a laugh, "Although...it is quite a shame. Those twins of yours are never going to hear what a musical genius their mommy was."

Her eyes widened at the statement. She had forgotten all about her children. What kind of mother was she? She was worrying about the fact she was about to die, her mind completely forgot about her children. Her two three-year-olds, who were safely spending the week at their aunt's house. Her two little angels, who had no idea they many never see their mother again.

At that moment, her want to survive the whole ordeal completely overcame her. She slowly went to her feet. She wasn't about to leave the two people she treasured without a mother. Without their parent, who had taken care of them as best as she could. She couldn't. If she just let herself be murdered willingly, she'd be letting herself, and her children down. Her attacker laughed, a cold, sadistic laugh.

"Ah, it appears that I sparked a nerve!" Another laugh, "Now, this gets interesting."

She charged at her attack her, the wound in her arm now feeling like nothing. She plunged head first into the stomach of the would-be-murderer, knocking them both to the floor. She then felt a knee jam into her stomach, knocking her off. She saw in the corner of her eye, her attacker getting up and turn towards her.

She also started to get up, still not willingly to die then. However, before she was able to make her next she heard three gun shots, and felt a sudden pain in her chest.

She fell down, feeling the blood pouring out of her. It then hit her, that she had lost. She failed. She failed her children.

"Goodbye, Lieutenant," Her murdered said, "This has been fun."

She began seeing the blackness surrounding the corners of her eyes; but all she could thing of was her twins. Louise and Dale. The loves of her life. How she was just leaving them, and there was nothing else she could do.

She remember the last time she saw them, dropping them of at her sister's house, before leaving to go to war. She knew then that there was the possibility she'd never see them again, but as soon as she was back on American soil...she was happy. She was going to see them again. They would have their mommy. But now...

She was going to die, and she'd never see them again. She'd never hear their sweet voices again.

She wished for one thing. To hear them say they loved her one last time. It wouldn't justify leaving the world, but it would make it just a little easier.

Before she lost consciousness forever, though, she heard something. She heard her telephone beep, and her voice in the answering machine telling whoever was calling to leave a message.

"Hi Mommy!" Came two voices that she knew anywhere.

"Auntie Leslie made us bwownies!" One of her children said. She smiled. The oldest of the twins; Louise.

"They wewe yummy!" Said her other; Dale.

"Hey, Gail, its Leslie," came the voice of her sister, "The kids just wanted to say goodnight to you, before they went to bed. They can't wait to see come back to you on Wednesday, and can't stop talking about it. I was thinking we could meet up at that French restaurant that you like." There was a slight pause, "Say goodnight, you two."

"Goodnight Mommy!" The two said, completely synchronized, "We love you!" There was a click, and the line went dead.

She smiled, and took in one last breath, and muttered her last words.

"I love you too..." she said weakly, "And...I'm sorry..."

--

Ziva's eyes stared at the cover of the book, as if she was trying to figure out it's contents by just looking at the cover. Not a day went by when she didn't hear somebody mention the book, and as far as she'd seen, everybody seemed to be obsessed with it. Now, she was finally about to see what the book was about, and if it was really as good as everybody had told her it was.

She heard the elevator ding, and Tony's noisy footsteps walk in. She didn't look up, though. He was only going to say something to irritate her, or something that would get him slapped by Gibbs later, like he did every day without fail.

"Oh, dear God," came his voice, "You've become one of them!" Ziva looked up, having no clue what he was talking about.

"One of who?" She asked. He smirked at her, and took the book out of her hands.

"Everybody I've known who's read this book has become..." he paused, and a look of fear came across his face, "This book warps people's minds, Ziva, turns them into complete psychopaths. They become zombies, who can only think about how great the book is; and there's no cure. Although..." he looked at her, and grinned, "Actually, you'll probably be just fine."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She growled at him.

"Is that Twilight?" Came McGee's sudden voice. The two turned to look at him, "I'm going to take Sarah to see the movie this weekend. Are you reading it?"

Ziva snatched the book from Tony's hand, and glared at him.

"I'm going to read it," she replied, "I've heard some good recommendations about it from my neighbors, and I've been looking for something good to read."

"Probie, we can't let this happen," Tony told McGee, "She's crazy enough as it is. We don't need that book warping her mind!"

"Tony, have you even _read _the book?" Ziva asked. Tony smiled at her.

"Have I read the book?" he laughed, "Ziva-"

"He hasn't read it," Gibbs came in the room, getting all three of the agent's attention, "Grab your gear. We've got a dead Navy Lieutenant."

--

_Click Click Click_

Tony looked at the dead woman he was taking pictures of. It was just another normal crime scene. Her auburn hair was scattered around her head. She had two bullet holes in her chest, and one in her arm.

The team was just looking around the room, looking for any evidence to find out what had happened to her.

She had been found by her neighbor, a man that looked to be about twenty. He had told the group that he had just moved to the building, and when he was walking by her room, he saw that the door was open. He had looked in, and saw her body on the floor. Unfortunetly, the two had never met, so he couldn't tell them the name of the poor woman.

"She was a pianist," Ziva commented, looking at the wooden piano in the corner of the living room.

"Wonder how good she was?" Tony commented, looking at her body, "I bet she was one of those people who got a piano just because they could. You wouldn't believe how many woman I've dated who've claimed to be 'musicians', and could barely play 'Mary Had a Little Lamb'."

Ziva then saw something on the piano. A small device she recognized as a recorder. Being curious, she pressed the "play" button.

"This is Toccota by Aram Khachaturian," said a female voice. There was a pause, before a loud, grand cord instantly blasted through the speakers followed by a rapid string of notes. It was enough to get everybody's attention. Even Gibbs was looking at their way, and the music coming from the small recording device. Ziva paused it, and smiled.

"You were saying?" She said, smuggly.

Tony sighed, and wondered into one of the bedrooms, looking for any evidence that could help them.

"Good morning, Jethro," came the sudden voice of Ducky, followed by Palmer. The two saw the body, and instantly went to it. They started to examine it, before putting the liver probe in.

"She had children," McGee said, finding a photo. It was framed picture of what he easily recognized as the victim; and two kinds who looked like they were about three; a girl and a boy.

"So, the question is, where are the children?" Gibbs asked. A sinking feeling hit McGee's stomach. He hated it when cases made a turn like this. He didn't want to stumble upon the bodies of the two three year olds. He hadn't seen a dead child yet, and he hoped he'd never have to.

"It looks like she died twelve to fourteen hours ago," Ducky commented, taking out the liver probe.

"Guys! You're going to want to see this!" Tony's voice yelled out, as he came rushing into the room. He was holding a ID card, with the victim's picture and name.

"You're never going to guess what her name is," He said, and held the card up. The team's eyes widened when they saw the name on the card.

"You've got to be kidding me," Ziva said, looking at the card.

"Abby's going to be jumping off the walls when she hears this," McGee added.

_Lieutenant Abigail Scuito

* * *

_

**I promised myself I wouldn't start anything new...but...the idea hit me, and I had to write it. So, the victim has Abby's name? What could this possibly mean?!?**

**I'm trying to make this as much like a NCIS episode as I possibly can. How am I doing character wise? Did I make anybody out of character? Was something rushed? Did I miss-spell something? Or is it completely perfect? Tell me!**

**Also, I want to make clear, that the the dead lieutenant IS NOT Abby. She just has the same name.**

**And another thing, this story will have absolutely _nothing _to do with Twilight. I just needed something to put for there, and since there has been so much hype around Twilight lately, I thought it fit. **

**Now, review! Thanksgiving leftovers for those who do...wait...I can't really send them over the computer...just review.**

**Jeanne  
**


	2. Chapter 2

_Gibbs didn't let the woman finish, and rapidly turned the van around towards the direction of the hospital._

* * *

Everybody just stood in silence upon finding out the dead woman's name, all shocked by it. Luckily, the dead lieutenant looked nothing like their forensic scientist, the only thing the two had in common was skin color. However, most dead people tended to have the same color skin tone as Abby.

However, the silence stayed in the room, even as everybody continued to do their jobs. Everybody was letting it sink in that they were solving the murder of Abigail Sciuto...just not the one they knew and loved.  
Everybody was still running "what if" scenarios in their head. What if it had been their Abby? It was a scary thought. Even if they all knew that it was an unlikely one...or at least, they hoped it was an unlikely one.

McGee then thought something. It would probably be a good idea to tell Abby the situation now. It wouldn't take long, and it would save him trouble later. Knowing her, if he waited to tell her when they got back, there was no doubt that she would lecture them about not telling her sooner. He got out his cell phone, and was about to press the speed dial to Abby's phone...but...

"No signal," he muttered, seeing the zero bars. He sighed.  
Sometimes, life made it very hard to follow the rule "Never be Unreachable". But it wasn't his fault their murder victim lived in a place of horrible cell-reception.  
At least if Abby got on him for not following that rule, he had an excuse. He pocketed the phone, and went back to seeing what he could find.

It was then, he saw something. In the corner of the room was a small black phone; the same brand that McGee had at his home. That wasn't what caught his attention, however. It was a popular phone, and he had see it in many other houses he went to. What did catch his attention, was the small flashing red light; the one that indicated somebody had called the lieutenant. And unless she was on her way to checking her phone-messages before she was murdered, that meant somebody had called the lieutenant after her death.

He walked up to the machine, and pressed the button that would allow the phone message to play.

_"Hi Mommy!" _Came the voices of two children._  
_

_"Auntie Leslie made us bwownies!"_ One said.

_"They wewe yummy!"_ Came the second one.

_"Hey, Gail, its Leslie. The kids just wanted to say goodnight to you, before they went to bed."_ It was a female's voice this time, "_They can't wait to see you Wednesday, and can't stop talking about it. I was thinking we could meet up at that French restaurant that you like. Say goodnight, you two."_

_"Goodnight Mommy! We love you!"_

And that was all there was to the message. McGee turned around, and saw that he had everybody's attention with the message.

"When did the message come?" Gibbs asked. McGee took the phone, and checked the call log.

"8:00 PM yesterday," he replied.

"About the same time as this poor woman's demise," Ducky noted. There was a sigh of relief within the room, knowing that they at least knew that the two kids in the photo were safe at a family member's house. That was one load off of their shoulders.

"Tony, McGee," Gibbs commanded, "I want you to find out anything you can about the lieutenant, and find where I can contact the sister."

"On it, Boss," the two replied at the same time. Gibbs turned to Ziva.

"You're with me. We're going to interview the neighbors, see if they heard anything."

--

The van ride back to headquarters had turned into a fifteen minute drive, to a forty-five minute one. A traffic accident involving at least five cars had blocked the main road, so Tony and McGee had to take a detour.

After leaving a message on Gibb's cell phone (which they prayed he would listen to before he and Ziva started their drive back) Tony and McGee had a very meaningful conversation, which in this case, was Tony going on and on about some Japanese movie he had seen on some unknown TV channel the previous night, the cute girl working at the Starbucks by his house, and something about his new neighbor "who looks like the crazy chic from the Harry Potter films".

McGee wasn't really paying attention. He had learned a long time ago the art of blocking Tony out, while being able to listen in on key details so he didn't miss something important.

However, when they were five minutes away from finally reaching headquarters, Tony started a conversation that McGee was actually interested in.

"Lieutenant Abigail Sciuto," Tony said, as the two of them were on their way back from the van. "Lieutenant Abby Scuito." he laughed, "Never thought we'd be saying that, huh Probie?" His grin grew, "I mean...can you seriously imagine Abby in the military? I mean, even though she's NCIS is, she is the complete opposite of the women you see in the military!"

"What makes you say that?" McGee asked, even though he some-what agreed. Mainly, because the Abby he knew wouldn't even hurt a nat. She'd feel too bad if she actually hit it. There'd be no way in hell she'd ever shoot somebody.

"Oh, come on, Probie. You really need to ask?" He grinned "She doesn't even follow half the rules at NCIS. Can you imagine how many rules she'd break in the military?"

McGee had to admit, it was very true. She didn't even follow the dress code at NCIS...and it wasn't even that strict a dress code. The thought of her in a navy uniform made him laugh. That would be the day.

"Although, who knows, Probie. She might actually do pretty well if she ever joined." This statement caught McGee by surprise.

"How?" Tony grinned.

"Think about it, Probie. She's the only one who knows how to get Gibbs to be nice. If she can get Gibbs to like her, she could meet a terrorist, and the next thing you know, the two would be swapping music on their iPods." McGee smiled. He knew Tony was joking, but at the same time, it would probably be true. "Besides that, even if by some miracle she gets in a sticky situation, whatever mystical power that's kept her alive all these years would kick in, and the poor bastards wouldn't know what hit them."

Again, McGee knew that Tony was joking, but a part of him knew it was true. Over the years, Abby had become a magnet for attracting unnecessary trouble, and had probably faced more sticky situations in five years, then he ever would in his whole career. She had been shot at, had a gun pointed to her head, have a lab assistant who turned out to be homicidal, kidnapped by a killer-for-hire, kidnapped by a serial killer that nobody knew existed, stalked by a psycho ex-boyfriend, and almost be killed by a smart car programed to kill. And even though McGee knew that Gibbs had saved her from some of those situations, for the most part, it was the girl's quick thinking that had saved her.

"So, McGee, what do you think Abby's gonna do when we tell her?" Tony asked. McGee shrugged.

"We're about the find out."

--

McGee sighed, as he made the journey to Abby's lab. This was it, the moment of truth. He looked to Tony next to him, who's face was a mixture of anticipation, and nervousness. McGee didn't blame him. They had no idea what Abby was going to do.

They heard the sound of the elevator ding, and the doors opened. They walked out onto the floor, and automatically, something felt off. They both felt it, and although neither of them could explain it, something was wrong. Both knew that something had happened...something bad.

They looked at each other, as if to confirm their suspicions. A silent exchange passed between the two, and before they knew it, they found their feet rushing over to Abby's lab. They got outside her door, and the feeling in their stomach got worse. There was definitely something wrong here. Taking a deep breath, they walked into the lab.

"This isn't right..." Tony said, as the two entered the lab. The lights were turned off, and there was no music playing. McGee paled. That meant she hadn't shown up for work yet. That was never a good sign. Abby was the poster-girl for "Coming to Work Early", and was never late unless it was absolutely necessary. If she was going to be late, she'd at least give one of them a call first.

Maybe she did! After all, he hadn't checked his phone messages that day. She could have called while they were at the crime scene. The place has such bad reception, she could call, and he would never even know.

Sure enough, looking at his phone, he had gotten a missed from the forensics expert.

"She called," McGee said, getting the message up on his phone, and putting it on speaker for Tony to hear.

_"McGee!" _Came the forensic scientist's loud voice, slightly distorted by the small speakers on the phone, _"Why are non of your cell phone's turned on? I've already called Tony, Gibbs, Ziva, and now you...am I just imagining rule number three? ...Unless you're at a Crime Scene with no reception...which now that I think about it, is a good possibility, since a lot of places have horrible phone reception and now I'm regretting what I said in my message to Tony..."_

"...What message?" Tony muttered, as the forensic scientist went on.

"_But anyways, I'm so so so sorry I'm going to be late today. I gave blood today, and I had just finished doing that. Since I'm supposed to have sugar afterwards, I decided_ _to go get something to eat. I didn't want to be late, I decided to go to somewhere quick, with a drive-thru. However, I got to the drive-thru and I see the guy before me start to order, and he pulls out a list that's taller then me. I was about to get out of line and go somewhere else, but then this big truck goes behind me, and so I'm stuck. That's where I am, anyways. I'm still looking at this guy, and he's still ordering! How much food can he even hold in that car? It's a flippin Prius for Gods sake! Ah, man. I wish I didn't eat that cookie yesterday...I need sugar!"_ there was a sigh, _"Anyways, that's why I'm late. I left messages on Tony, Gibbs, and Ziva's phone as well, so this may be old news. I'll call when I'm out. Bye!"_

Tony smiled.

"At least we know where she is. Trapped in a drive-thru," he pulled out his phone, and saw that sure enough, he had a message from Abby too. Being curious, he put in on speaker, and pressed play.

"_Tony! Why is your cell phone not turned on! Has Gibbs not pounded his rules in your head! Rule number three! Never. Be. Unreachable! I really need to reach one of you! I mean, I understand why Gibbs' phone isn't on, he probably turned it off by accident, but you! You're better then that!!" _It began. McGee couldn't help but laugh.

"Guess that's what she meant before by 'I'm not regretting what I said in Tony's message',"

The message then went on with the same blood-donation, trapped in a drive through story, with the occasional "Why is your cell phone not on?" before finally ending.

_"..And Tony, RULE NUMBER THREE!"_

"See, there was absolutely nothing to worry about, Probie," Tony said smugly, acting as if he was never worried about her in the first place, "She's stuck in a drive-thru. It happens to all of us." McGee sighed. Tony did have a point, but there was still something that bugged him.

"But, she called us while we were at the crime scene," McGee pointed out, "We just got out of there an hour ago, which mean's that these messages are older then that."

"Guy before her must of been really hungry," McGee glared at Tony.

"This is serious!" Tony sighed.

"Relax. I'll call her, and prove to you that she's just fine," He was about to pressed the speed-dial button for Abby's phone number, but before he could, another call came in.

**Gibbs**

Tony quickly answered it, not wanted to keep his boss waiting.

McGee couldn't help but notice Tony's face during the call. It was a big smile when he answered it. However, whatever Gibbs was saying over the phone was clearly unsettling, as the grin on his face fell into a worried frown

"We'll be right there boss," Tony said, non of his "everything's fine" attitude left in his voice. McGee paled.

He didn't know what the phone call was about, but he knew that it wasn't good.

--

Gibb's didn't know why they even talked to neighbors for crime scene. They were always completely useless. They all said either one of three things.

A) "She was such a nice girl, it's a shame this happened to her." This was the most common answer, usually given by the female's of the building. They would then continue to say that they didn't see/hear/smell/have any idea what so ever on what could have happened.

B) "The Girl in 14B? Yeah! She was in the military. She was hot!" Second most typical answer. Usually given by the young males from 17-27. It should be noted that it was these were the guys that always asked "Is NCIS like CSI?"

C) "Who?" The people who had moved in while she was on duty, and didn't even know she lived there. Needless to say, they also didn't have any useful information.

"Well, that was pointless," Ziva said, as they finally walked out of the apartment. Gibbs sighed, as they walked back into the van. He hoped that McGee and Tony found some valuable information. He wanted to get this case over as fast as he could. He was going to find the sorry soul who did this, make them regret they ever messed with Abby Sciuto...even if it was a different Abby. It still hit home just as hard, and Gibbs couldn't get that damn "what if" out of his mind.

However, there was something else. Gibb's gut was telling him something was wrong, and although he didn't know what, he had the feeling that something bad had happened.

He could tell that Ziva could feel it too, her instincts nearly as strong as his were. She had that look on her face, when her senses were telling her something had happened. That only made the feeling in his gut worse. He was almost tempted to call Tony and McGee, just to check up on everything.

It was then, while he was driving, his phone rang. He instantly picked it up, not even looking to see who it was.

"Yeah?" He said, impatiently.

"Um..." A female voice came in, one that he had never heard before, "Is this Leroy Jethro Gibbs?" she asked.

"Yes," Gibbs replied, his gut buzzing even more, he didn't like where this was going.

"My name is Tessie Lotterie, from St. Jude's hospital. We have you listed as the emergency contact for a Ms. Abigail Sciuto." Gibbs' gut started to go into full alert mode. Any phone call that started out like that never turned out good.

"Yeah?" Gibbs said, in a voice that said "if you don't move on quickly, you're life will become a living hell." He heard a sigh on the other side

_"There was an accident..."_

Gibbs didn't let the woman finish, and rapidly turned the van around towards the direction of the hospital.

* * *

**Sorry this took so long to post. Long week, what I like to call "Cramming Week 1". I have final's in two weeks...so...yeah. But its up. **

**What happened to Abby? Is she alright? What's going to happen.**

**Also, anybody who gets the reference in the name "Tessie Lotterie" gets a virtual cookie.**

**That's all for now!**

**Jeanne**


End file.
